Gojo Satoru looked at him sideways. Tu Bai was sleeping deeply, his eyelashes casting small shadows beneath his eyes, his lips slightly parted. His black curly hair brushed against the side of Gojo Satoru's neck, feeling a bit itchy.
Gojo Satoru looked for a long time, then turned his head back to look out the window.
The driver glanced in the rearview mirror and smiled: "Your younger brother?"
No," Gojo Satoru said, pausing before adding, "A friend.
You two have such a great bond.
Gojo Satoru said nothing.
The car drove to the bottom of Tu Bai's apartment building. Gojo Satoru gently shook him: "Xiao Bai, we're here."
Tu Bai opened his eyes in a daze, only to find himself leaning against Gojo Satoru's shoulder. He quickly sat up straight. ".. Sorry."
It's fine." Gojo Satoru paid the fare, got off the vehicle, saw him to the entrance of the building, "Do you have class tomorrow?
I have class in the morning.
Then go to sleep early." Gojo Satoru rubbed his hair. "I sent you next week's mission; remember to check it.
.. Mm.
Tu Bai turned around and headed upstairs. Halfway up, he remembered the note Kugisaki had given him, so he pulled it out to read.
There was only one sentence on the note, written in a messy hand:
【Gojo-sensei's gaze toward you is incorrect, be careful!】
Tu Bai froze.
What kind of look was that? What was incorrect?
He recalled Gojo Satoru's appearance today—his seriousness during training, the meat he shielded from the spicy pot at the hotpot table, how he let him sleep on his shoulder in the car..
It seems.. he might be a bit too caring?
But doesn't Gojo Satoru also take quite good care of Itadori and the others? Even if his way of doing it is different.
Tu Bai shook his head and stuffed the note back into his pocket. Perhaps Kugisaki was overthinking it.
He opened the door and entered the room, collapsing onto the sofa. His phone vibrated; it was a message from Gojo Satoru:
[I've arrived. Goodnight.]
Tu Bai stared at the message for a few seconds before replying: 【Goodnight.】
Then he stared at the ceiling, the image of Gojo Satoru supporting his waist at the Jujutsu High Training Ground surfaced in his mind again, along with the shoulder he had leaned against in the car.
He raised his hand to touch his side, where the sensation of being scratched seemed to still linger.
His ears began to burn again.
Tu Bai turned over and buried his face in the body pillow.
Sleep. There are classes tomorrow.
---
On the other side, Gojo Satoru returned home, after stepping out from the shower, he saw the Chibi Tu Bai doll on the sofa. He picked it up and pinched the doll's small face.
During today's training, the way Tu Bai used Construction Technique was indeed beautiful. Focused and serious, the flow of his Silver Demon Power was like a form of art.
Gojo Satoru smiled.
He put the doll back on the sofa, picked up his phone, scrolled through the photos taken today—Tu Bai on the training ground, Tu Bai in the Hot Pot Restaurant, Tu Bai sleeping.
After looking for a while, he opened Tu Bai's chat window, typed a few words, then deleted them.
In the end, he only sent a single sentence: 【Don't be late for next week's mission.】
He waited for a few minutes, but there was no reply. They must have fallen asleep.
Gojo Satoru put down his phone, lay on the bed, stared at the ceiling.
He had noticed the way that girl Kugisaki looked at him today. As well as his little gesture of slipping him that note.
"A strange look in his eyes"?
What was incorrect?
Gojo Satoru closed his eyes.
Isn't it just that I find this rabbit quite interesting, I want to watch him more, play with him more, take a bit more care of him?
There is nothing incorrect.
He turned over and went to sleep.
Author's Note:
----------------------
Chapter 12
On Friday afternoon, Tu Bai had no classes. He had originally planned to catch up on sleep at home, but at ten o'clock in the morning, there was a knock at the door.
Upon opening the door, he saw Gojo Satoru standing outside, holding two large paper bags—one filled with Kikufuku, the other.. seemingly containing laboratory equipment?
Senpai?" Tu Bai froze, "What are you doing here?
I'm here to do an experiment." Gojo Satoru squeezed through the doorway with natural ease and placed the paper bag on the dining table. "I've thought of an interesting topic, I'll need your help.
Tu Bai closed the door and walked over to take a look. The paper bag indeed contained experimental equipment: several glass containers, measuring instruments, some Cursed Tool parts that he didn't recognize.
What subject?
Try constructing something that can store Cursed Energy." Gojo Satoru took a notebook from his bag and flipped it open, revealing pages filled with complex energy flow diagrams. "Look, a Sorcerer's Cursed Energy is consumed bit by bit and requires time to recover. If it could be stored, it could be used at critical moments..
His eyes lit up: "It would have great tactical significance."
Tu Bai frowned: "But my Construction Technique can only construct tangible things. Cursed Energy is energy; it is formless and massless."
That's why we need to research it," Gojo Satoru said, pulling over a chair and sitting down, then patting the seat beside him. "Come on, give it a try.
Tu Bai sat down, looking at the equipment on the table with some hesitation: "I've never done anything like this.."
That's why it's called an experiment." Gojo Satoru pushed an empty glass container toward him. "Use this as a template first. Try to use Construction to create a 'Container' and see if it can hold Cursed Energy.
Tu Bai took a deep breath and focused his mind. Silver Demon Power surged from his palm, enveloping the glass container. A few seconds later, an identical glass container appeared beside it—constructed from Demon Power, translucent, with fine silver Demon Wards flowing across its surface.
"Done," Tu Bai said.
Gojo Satoru reached out, his fingertips condensing a small cluster of blue Cursed Energy—the color of "Blue," but compressed to an extremely small size. He placed the cluster of Cursed Energy into the constructed Container.
The ball of Cursed Energy wobbled inside the Container, then.. it dissipated. Like water seeping into sand, it vanished quickly.
Failure," Gojo Satoru said. "The structure of the construction cannot retain Cursed Energy.
Tu Bai was not surprised: "Demon Power and Cursed Energy are fundamentally different. My constructions are made with Demon Power, so they have no affinity for Cursed Energy."
Then let's try a different approach." Gojo Satoru closed his notebook, stood up, walked behind Tu Bai. "Don't think about 'constructing a Container'; think about 'constructing a structure capable of accommodating energy'.
He leaned down and grasped Tu Bai's hand from behind.
Tu Bai froze.
Gojo Satoru's hands were large and his palms warm, completely enveloping Tu Bai's hand. His chin was almost resting against the top of Tu Bai's head, his breath brushed against the crown of his hair as he spoke.
Close your eyes," Gojo Satoru said, "and feel my Cursed Energy.
Tu Bai closed his eyes. He could feel Gojo Satoru's Cursed Energy flowing from their touching palms, cold and sharp, like flowing ice water.
Your Demon Power is very soft, like.. lukewarm water," Gojo Satoru said in a low voice. "Try using your Demon Power to simulate the 'flow' of Cursed Energy. Don't just copy the structure; mimic the feeling. Imagine your Demon Power is water, but make it flow like ice water..
Tu Bai tried. He mobilized his Demon Power, making it shift from being gentle to.. less gentle. He imagined the way Gojo Satoru's Cursed Energy flowed within his body—fast, direct, possessing a certain sharp texture.
Silver Demon Power gathered in his palm, but this time, the light was brighter and sharper than usual.
Yes, just like that." Gojo Satoru gripped his hand, "A little faster. Make the Demon Power 'flow' instead of 'condensing'.
Tu Bai grit his teeth, sweat beading on his forehead. He had never manipulated Demon Power like this before. The power of the demon race emphasized nature and tranquility, but now he was forcibly altering its very nature.
The silver light in his palm began to rotate like a small vortex. At the center of the vortex, something was condensing.
Hold it steady." Gojo Satoru's voice was very close. "Now, use this vortex as a 'mold' and use Construction to create a 'shell' that can contain the energy.
Tu Bai's mind raced. He visualized the shape of the vortex, imagining the energy swirling within it. Then, he used Demon Power to perform a Construction around the perimeter of the vortex—not a solid shell, but countless tiny, interlacing grids, like a honeycomb or a neural network.
The silver grid took shape around the periphery of the vortex, enveloping the swirling Demon Power.
Alright." Gojo Satoru released one hand, but kept his other hand gripping Tu Bai's wrist. "Now, I'm going to inject Cursed Energy into it. Keep the structure stable.
Tu Bai nodded, his eyes still closed.
Gojo Satoru's fingertips condensed a small cluster of Blue Cursed Energy once again. This time it was smaller, but more solid. He slowly injected the Cursed Energy into the Silver Grid Vortex.
The moment the Cursed Energy entered, Tu Bai felt a violent rejection. The Demon Power and the Cursed Energy were like water and oil, desperately trying to push each other out. The grid structure shook violently, nearly collapsing.
Steady!" Gojo Satoru's grip tightened, "Imagine they aren't opposites, but.. complementary. Ice and water are both water; they're just in different states.
Ice and water..
Tu Bai grit his teeth and forcibly changed the nature of his Demon Power—making it "colder" and closer to the texture of Cursed Energy. At the same time, he adjusted the structure of the Silver Grid, making the mesh smaller and denser.
Blue Cursed Energy swirled within the Silver Grid, its speed slowing down, but.. it did not dissipate.
It was trapped.
Tu Bai opened his eyes.
Hovering above his palm was a crystal the size of a fingernail. It was translucent, with rotating blue specks of light inside and a Silver Grid pattern enveloping its exterior. It rotated slowly, emitting a soft glow.
"It's done," Gojo Satoru said, his voice carrying a rare sense of excitement.
The two stared at that small crystal for several seconds.
Gojo Satoru reached out and carefully pinched the crystal. It was very light, with almost no weight. Blue specks of light flowed within the Silver Grid, like trapped stars.
"How long can it store?" Tu Bai asked.
"Let's try it." Gojo Satoru placed the crystal on the Measuring Instrument. The instrument showed that energy was leaking slowly, but at a very slow rate. At this speed, it could probably last for.. three days?
Three days." Gojo Satoru recited the number, then smiled, "Xiao Bai, do you know what this means?